The National Wild Turkey Federation’s Wisconsin State Chapter is putting their money where their mouth is by supporting the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and taking a stand to protect Wisconsin’s dove hunting season.

Anti-hunters have recently threatened the state of Wisconsin with a lawsuit to stop dove hunting permanently. Wisconsin citizens formed a group called the Wisconsin Citizens Concerned for Cranes & Doves (WCCCD). The group was formed with the purpose of providing a voice for Wisconsin citizens who want to put an end to the sport of hunting mourning doves and sandhill cranes in Wisconsin.

Even though the NWTF is a conservation organization focused on the wild turkey, it is also concerned about preserving our hunting heritage. The NWTF’s Wisconsin Chapter has contributed $5,000 to help pay the legal bills and to show that they stand behind the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance as it works to overcome the anti-dove hunting issue.

“The Wisconsin Chapter of the NWTF understands that this case is bigger than just dove hunting,” said Tony Celebrezze, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance director of field services. “It’s about the future of hunting and the authority of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to regulate wildlife in the state for the benefit of its citizens.”

The Wisconsin DNR is dedicated to the preservation, protection, effective management, and maintenance of Wisconsin's natural resources. It is responsible for implementing the laws of the state and the laws of the federal government that protect and enhance the natural resources of our state. The DNR wants to make sure that there is a full range of outdoor recreational opportunities for Wisconsin citizens and visitors.

“This court case is about protecting wildlife conservation and stopping the anti’s from stripping authority from the DNR,” said Greg Shermo, president of the NWTF’s Wisconsin Chapter. “To that end, we challenge other Wisconsin conservation clubs and organizations to step up and help defray the legal bills being incurred by the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance on behalf of Wisconsin Sportsmen.”

Earlier in the year, the NWTF and its 450,000 volunteers showed their dedication to ensuring the future of our hunting heritage by giving $100,000 to the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance. This latest contribution brings the total to $475,000 over the last four years.

“The restoration of the wild turkey, white-tailed deer, mourning doves and even the bald eagle would not have happened without sportsmen. Conservation can’t exist without hunters,” said Rob Keck, CEO of the NWTF. “The Federation’s mission statement makes it 100 percent clear that we’re committed to hunting, and our contributions to the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance will be used to protect and advance the rights of sportsmen throughout North America.”

For more information about the Wisconsin dove hunting issue or about the NWTF, call 1-800-THE-NWTF or visit the NWTF’s web site at www.nwtf.org.

We received this useful know-how information from Chad Glidden and thought we would pass it along to our Buddies.

1. Put live turtle in a 55 gal. drum for 7 days, to allow it to empty it's system, it helps with the smell. Keep fresh water in the drum. Scoop out the feces with a net.

2. Using channel locks, hold him tight by the mouth with neck stretched out. Cut off his head.

3. Hang him upside down to bleed out for about 30 minutes.

4. Put him on his back, cut claws and feet off.

5. Cut skin around shell top and bottom, cut and pull skin away from shell on the front legs until skin is removed.

6. On the soft shell belly outside edge of shell, cut through soft shell contact points and remove.

7. Remove guts and innards.

8. Remove front legs, may need to twist to break the joint.

9. Cut and peel skin from back legs and neck.

10. Remove back legs and neck, again twisting to break joints.

11. Leave meat on bone, but try to remove as much fat as possible.

12. Wash with cold water, repeat until clean.

13. Freeze submerged in water.

Chad says to cook the turtle like you would chicken. Season it with paprika, salt and pepper and roll in flour. Fry in a skillet or bake it like a pork tenderloin. If anyone has any recipes for cooking turtle, send them in and we will add them to our recipe page. Go to our site and use the form on the recipe page or the contact us page to send us your recipe OR e-mail them to: editor@backwoodsbound.com

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About How To Catch, Kill, Clean, Cook And Eat A Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, But Were Afraid To Ask - Part 2

Seeking out a western diamondback is not a casual thing to do. A large rattlesnake is a formidable adversary and can lift its head off the ground almost 20 inches (50cm) in an attempt to bite you. Rattlesnakes have aggressively pursued its attackers including humans. Nevertheless, hunting rattlesnakes is little different than hunting bear or mountain lion, both of which have been known to hunt and kill humans. As long as you are properly equipped and use common sense you have little risk in being bitten. The first item of business is snake boots and/or chaps.

There are a number of good products from which to choose. Cabela's offers snake boots with a Dry-Lex® lining beginning at around $90.00. They also offer snake gaiters and chaps beginning at around $50.00 for men, women and children. In addition, snake pants are available for around $100.00 and Snake Guardz® is available for around $60.00. Dunns offer Russell® snake boots made with bullhide leather for around $300.00. The Sportmen's Guide offers Guide Gear® snake boots for around $90.00 and, in addition, makes available other brands on a seasonal basis. This is not exhaustive list and there are other manufacturers from which to choose. The author personally uses Chippawa® snake boots and Cabela's chaps. A good starting place is to look for boots and/or chaps that use bullhide leather or DuPont's® Cordura 1000 denier nylon. The second item of business is the license.

Hunting with the intent to kill a western diamondback rattlesnake requires a valid general hunting license. There is no stamp or special permit required. This is different from simply trying to "catch" a rattlesnake for retention. In that case, you would need (at least in Texas) a permit if the amount of rattlesnakes to be retained exceeds ten snakes. By the way, this rule applies to all non-game non-endangered species whether it is a western diamondback rattlesnake or a chipmunk. There is another permit required if you intend on selling the snakes. The third item of business is the weapon.

Harvesting a rattlesnake for eating and harvesting a rattlesnake for trophy are two separate matters. A shot to the head whether it is a handgun, rifle or shotgun is all that is needed if the sole purpose of the hunt is the meat. From personal experience the author has noted that the vast majority of rattlesnakes encountered have been coiled. This creates a slight problem if the only weapon you have is a shotgun. The simple fact of the matter is that a shotgun will destroy too much meat. The author is from deep south Texas and hunts primarily in the fall. The animals hunted include mourning dove, whitewing, quail, jackrabbit and later on deer, javelina and coyote. Naturally, there is problem when all you have in the field is a shotgun and you are lucky(?) enough to stumble upon a rattlesnake.

You may think all you would need to do is throw a rock at the snake, let it uncoil and then take the shot. This might surprise a lot of you but, a rattlesnake moves very fast. Not only that, but a rattlesnake does not usually travel more than 140 feet (approx.50m) from his den. This means he is going home fast. A wild shot simply to kill the snake is not proper. Not because you will not kill the snake. You will kill the snake but you will ruin the meat for eating purposes. The best weapon is probably a medium caliber handgun. The author recommends a .38 special or up. The brain of a rattlesnake is small. You need some leeway. Therefore, if you are slightly off with your aim, you will make a kill. Not always, but most of the time. I remember one 4 foot rattlesnake that I shot with my Smith & Wesson Model 686 .357 Mag. (for those who are interested, I believe I was shooting .38 Special 95 gr. Silvertip +P) just outside his den. He didn't die quick enough and managed to crawl in his den before I could get him. Nevertheless, in that situation, I don't know what else I could have done. A shotgun would have rendered the meat not edible and a rifle would not have made the kill any cleaner than the handgun.

If your purpose is strictly trophy, you may want to avoid a shot to head and try to break its spine with the shot. You may also use a tool called a pinner to "pin" the snake and bag it. Then you may bring the live snake home and put the bag with the snake in the deep freeze(a must for every hunter). You may also trap the rattlesnake but, eventually he will have to be removed from the trap. Occasionally, methods used to control rattlesnakes as pests are used. This includes glue boards. Glue boards are not recommended for use as either a trophy seeking device or for catching a snake for culinary purposes. Not necessarily because it is inhumane but simply because it doesn't meet the objective of the hunter (i.e., it is not sporting). For information on purchasing equipment on capturing a rattlesnake check the internet at www.wildlifedamageunl.edu.

After the rattlesnake is dead, you may take the snake to a taxidermist. the rate to have a snake mounted varies but is approximately $4.00 - $5.00 per inch. Naturally, there are a number of factors to be considered such as the base and position, and whether the snake is to be mounted or simply the hide tanned.

Once you have a western diamondback rattlesnake, and it is dead, the next order of business is to skin and clean it. To skin a rattlesnake, turn the snake belly side up. Start at the head and make an incision down his stomach to the tail where white meets black. Assuming you want to keep the hide, cut through the meat at the tail and simply peel the meat from the hide. It will come off with little difficulty. You gut the snake and wash it off in cold water. The snake's mouth is still dangerous in that there is residual venom and you must take care not to handle the head. However, you should not be concerned with eating venom tainted meat as it will not hurt you. Cut the rattlesnake into 3 inch pieces and freeze in water. Do not leave a lot of meat at either the head or tail because, if you choose to tan the hide, you will have to "flesh" the snake anyway. Why waste good meat?

Next month in Part 3, Jason gets the cooking and eating of your rattlesnake. Backwoods Bound reminds everyone that rattlesnakes can be dangerous and caution should be used. Also check with your state conservation departments about the rules governing rattlesnakes. In some states they are protected and killing one could land you in big trouble.

I believe that a vast majority of deer hunters are just like me when it comes to having time to pursue whitetail deer. Because of work or family obligations most of our hunting is done on the weekends. The question is are you using your limited time wisely? After many years of successful weekend only adventures I have discovered a few items that may be of interest to you and might just give you that little extra edge you need.

The most important and number one element of deer hunting in my view is scouting. You cannot harvest a deer that isn't there. You must look for current deer sign. Rubs and scrapes are fine, but what about early bow season when there are no rubs or scrapes? What I do is look for trails leading to and from food sources with the most amount of sign possible; Deer droppings, fresh tracks, etc. If you have to burn a Saturday morning scouting and hunt Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning it will be in your best interest. I see a lot of guys who do not scout and go set their stands up in the dark on Saturday morning because the deer were there last year. Believe me when I tell you good scouting and gathering of current information will increase your odds tenfold.

The second element of a successful weekend only hunt is scent control. I do not own a single piece of scent elimination clothing (I envy those of you that do). I do, however, use scent away spray religiously. I also spray my boots with coon urine and I like to broadcast spray doe urine around my area once on the stand. If you do these things and pay attention to wind direction it will help you tremendously.

The third and last element of a successful weekend hunt is patience. After you have done all of your scouting and scent control/elimination to the best of you ability, you no doubt have chosen a spot to hunt. Stick with it for a while! The worst thing you can do is change spots every couple of hours. All of the crashing around in the woods is not tolerated by whitetail deer and they will leave.

I once read an article years ago in one of the hunting magazines that said on average a whitetail deer gun hunter is successful once every three years, a bow hunter once every seven years. So, as you can see we put in a lot of time with no results. I say you can be successful every year, even if, like me, you are a weekend hunter.

Note: To All of you deer hunters out there, if you have a method or trick of the trade to help out young or inexperienced deer hunters, send them to me at: kenny@backwoodsbound.com. I will look them over and publish a list so all of our hunters can benefit from the wealth of information that I know all of you have gained over the years.

I'm Kenny, and I hope I have all of you in my corner.

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